JK Rowling launches emergency appeal to help children trapped in Ukrainian orphanages

JK Rowling has launched an emergency appeal for children trapped in Ukrainian orphanages amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Her Lumos Foundation is currently raising funds to provide hygiene, food, and medical kits to people who have been affected by the conflict, in addition to providing assistance to those evacuating from the country.

The money will also go toward psychological support for children impacted by the conflict, as well as assisting families and foster carers.

Rowling wrote on Twitter today (1 March): “War shatters childhoods and tears families apart. Lumos has launched an appeal to help the c100k children trapped in orphanages in Ukraine.”

On the charity’s website, a message warned that the Russian invasion “means more children are now in danger”.

Lumos has estimated more than 1,500 children are trapped in Ukrainian orphanages, with the risk of thousands more being displaced and separated from their families.

They have been working with the Ukrainian government to improve the country’s care system and protect vulnerable children.

According to recent satellite images, a Russian military convoy approximately 40 miles long is north of Kyiv, causing concern that the city will be attacked with rockets and shells.

The Harry Potter author co-founded the Lumos Foundation in 2005 for a “world in which all children grow up in safe and loving families”.